From SDSU Sports Information

SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota State picked up a pair of run-rule victories Tuesday in a doubleheader sweep of Dakota State, winning 12-1 and 18-8 at Bowden Field.

The Jackrabbits are now 29-12 on the season and continue their best start in program history.

Game 1

• SDSU 12, DSU 1 (5 inn.)

Madison Hope improved to 17-5 with the win, throwing three innings of two-hit action. She allowed one unearned run and struck out two before Olivia Douglas entered and pitched the final two frames in shutout fashion.

SDSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back as 10 Jackrabbits combined for 13 hits in the game.

Mallory McQuistan, Baily Janssen and Megan Rushing had multi-hit games. Rushing and Lyndsey Crist each had a two-run homer, as Rushing tallied three RBIs and Janssen and McQuistan both drove in two.

Abbey Murphy started the first with a single to right and wheeled around to score when Andersen’s double found the right-center gap. After an Ali Herdliska single and Brittney Morse walk loaded the bases, McQuistan sent a single up the middle to bring two more home and make it 3-0.

With one out in the inning and runners on first and second, Janssen kept the offense flowing with a line drive to left center, scoring a pair with her fourth two-bagger of the season. The Jackrabbits reloaded the bases with back-to-back free passes from Rushing and Ponce and scored one more when Murphy’s fielder’s choice allowed Janssen to scamper home.

Ahead by six after the first, the Jackrabbits pushed their advantage to eight in the second with a two-run home run from Crist.

DSU got one back in the third after an SDSU error and an RBI double, but in the bottom of the fourth the Jackrabbits struck back with a towering two-run home run from Rushing to go ahead 12-1. The Trojans put runners on in the top of the fifth but couldn’t score to extend the game.

Game 2

• SDSU 18, DSU 8 (6 inn.)

Taylor Compton started and tossed 3 2/3 innings, exiting in the fourth after allowing six earned runs (seven total) on six hits while striking out four. Kendra Conard (4-0) earned the win in relief by tossing the final 2 1/3 innings with just one run and two hits allowed, adding three strikeouts.

Andersen and Janssen both went 3-for-4 in the game while Murphy, Morse, McQuistan, Rushing and Ponce each added two hits. Andersen (double, home run) and Rushing (two doubles) each had four RBIs while Morse (two RBIs) hit two home runs and McQuistan had a solo shot.

Morse broke the school’s single-season RBI record in the contest and now has 53 this season.

A pair of home runs and an SDSU error helped Dakota State take a 3-0 lead in the second, but the Jackrabbits climbed back with five runs over the next two innings to go back on top 5-3.

In the bottom of the second, Dana Chavez drew a one-out walk before moving to third on Janssen’s single to center; and with two gone in the inning, Ponce hit a bloop single to right that fell safely and brought Chavez home.

Andersen singled and took second on a Herdliska walk to start the third; and with one gone, McQuistan sent a 2-2 pitch back up the middle to score Andersen. In the next at-bat, a fielder’s choice brought Herdliska home, and with two outs in the inning Rushing sent a double off the top of the left-field fence to plate McQuistan and Janssen.

DSU answered quickly with five runs in the fourth to go back up at 8-5, but the Jackrabbits took control for good in the bottom of the fifth.

Morse and McQuistan opened the inning with back-to-back home runs, and Chavez kept the rally going with a four-pitch walk in the next at-bat. From there, Janssen singled to center and Rushing brought both runners home with a double off the center-field wall.

Murphy and Andersen followed consecutive doubles to make it 10-8, and soon after Morse hit her second home run off the inning to put the Jackrabbits ahead five – 13-8 – while breaking the school’s single-season RBI record.

Conard kept the momentum in SDSU’s favor in the top of the sixth when she set the Trojans down in order with three strikeouts, and the Jackrabbits won it with another five runs in the bottom of the inning.

The sixth began with a single by Janssen, who wheeled around to third when a Rushing ground ball passed through the legs of DSU’s second baseman. Ponce followed with a single down the right field line to make it 15-8. After Murphy roped a single to left, Andersen blasted a 1-1 pitch over to center to end it.

Up Next

South Dakota State heads to Macomb, Ill., this weekend for a three-game set at league-leading Western Illinois. The teams play a doubleheader Saturday at noon and a single game Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Leathernecks (16-23) have an 8-1 record in league play, while the second-place Jackrabbits have an 8-3 mark. North Dakota State (25-14) sits in third at 5-2.

Sean Welsh/Register

Brittney Morse, shown here belting a home run versus North Dakota State on April 12, broke the South Dakota State single-season RBI record during the Jackrabbits’ 18-8, six-inning win over Dakota State in Game 2 of a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls. The senior from Houston, Texas, has driven in 53 runs on the year. SDSU beat DSU 12-1 in five innings in Game 1.